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Does Anybody have time to...?

2K views 40 replies 13 participants last post by  Nuts4Mutts 
#1 ·
Okay, I'm the new betta owner around here ;) Tintin the Halfmoon is my buddy.

I am wanting to hear ingredients from peoples' pellets - not just the brand name. I would really like to compare, and I don't exactly have time to take my bottle of fish-food & go to 3 different stores to compare ingredients [stores around here are lousy... only have like 1-2 different kinds of food each...]

Here's what kind of food/ingredients mine has:

"Zoo Med Micro Floating Betta Pellet Food"

Ingredients:
Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Squid Meal, Soybean Meal, Krill Meal, Fish Oil (naturally preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Shrimp Meal, Dehydrated Beets, Lecithin, Garlic Powder, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (scource of stabilized Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3, Vitamin B12, Maganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodate, Astaxanthin, Canthaxathin, Propionic Acid, Rosemary Extract.

Okay, all done. So to sum it up - Anyone who has the time to bring their bottle of their favorite fish-food & type down the name/ingredients? I would really really really appreciate it.

[I'm sure there's probably an easier way to write down the ingredients like finding the company's website & looking up the product then copying/pasting it.... but I hadda do it the hard way, squint at the tiny bottle & type down all those wack-o words I saw 0.o]

Thanks again! =]
 
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#2 ·
Omega one super color floating tropical fish pellets

INGREDIENTS: Whole Salmon, Halibut, Seafood Mix (Including Krill, Rockfish, & Shrimp), Wheat Flour, Wheat Gluten, Fresh Kelp, Astaxanthin, Lecithin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Phosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Natural and Artificial Colors, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Folic Acid, Biotin, Inositol, Tocopherol (Preservative), Ethoxyquin (Preservative).
 
#3 · (Edited)
I'm gonna do this the easy way. (Lazy Time :3)

"TetraBetta Plus Floating Mini Pellets"

Ingredients:
Wheat Flour, Fish Meal, Wheat Gluten, Potato Protein, Corn Starch, Soybean oil, Corn Gluten, Shrimp Meal, Dried Yeast, Monobasic Calcium Phosphate, Lecithin, Algae Meal, Yeast Extract, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Inositol, Niacin, A-Tocopherol-Acetate (source of Vitamin E), Riboflavin-5-Phosphate (source of Vitamin B2), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (stabilized Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin A Palmitate (source of Vitamin A), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K), Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Cholecalciferol (source of Vitamin D3), Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate and Cobalt Acetate. Color includes: Annatto Extract, Beta-carotene, Red 3 and Canthaxanthin. Ethoxyquin as a preservative.

Not the Best, but my Betta loves them!!!
 
#4 ·
@teenythebetta: Thank you very much! Hm, if I can find that brand around here (doubt I can though... =\ only stores here are a couple of tiny pet shops and a Walmart [our walmart is remodeling, so I'm sooooo glad that they took out the aquariums & those poor poor betta fish], but if I can, definitely will look into it) I'm assuming your fish love it? =) And also assuming it helps brighten/enlarge their fins?
 
#5 · (Edited)
I bought it @ petsmart but I believe PETco sells it. Walmart doesn't sell high quality food brands :/ (it's the same way with dog & cat food- anything sold @ walmart is low quality and made of corn & wheat) :p

Teeney & pandora love it. The only bad thing is the pellets are big and need to be crushed :/ (my other 3 bettas are eating hikari baby pellets- I got it as a sample. It's not a greatbfood cos the first ingredient is wheat so I don't RECCOMEND it. I'm feeding it since they're small and my other 3 are young)

Teeney is the only one that has been eating it long enough to change. It didn't change the orange but it brought out white in her tail. :)

As you can see I'm a big believer in good pet nutrition :)
 
#6 · (Edited)
Here's the two brands that I feed:

Atison's Betta Pro

Ingredients:
Pure brine shrimp embryos | wheat flour | vitamins (stabilized ascorbic acid, vitamin E supplement, niacin | thiamine mononitrate | folic acid | calcium pantothenate | riboflavin | menadione sodium bisulfate complex | Vitamin A acetate | pyridoxine HCL | Vitamin B12 supplement | Vitamin D3 supplement, biotin) and preservatives (calcium propionate, ethoxyquin).

Guaranteed analysis:
Protein 38% | Fiber 4.4% | Fat 7.5% | Ash 7.6% | Moisture 10.5%

New Life Spectrum Betta Formula

Ingredients:
Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, Whole Herring Meal, Whole Wheat Flour, Algae Meal, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Garlic, Vegetable and Fruit Extract (Spinach, Broccoli, Red Pepper, Zucchini, Tomato, Pea, Red and Green Cabbage, Apple, Apricot, Mango, Kiwi, Papaya, Peach, Pear), Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine, DL Alphatocophero ( E ), Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Niacin, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C), Ethylenediamine dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Choline Chloride

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein 37%, Fiber 4%, Fat 5%, Ash 8%, Moisture 10%
 
#7 ·
I currently feed my betta
Top Fin Color Enhancing Betta Bits

Ingredients:
Fish Meal, Shrimp Meal, Soybean Meal, Wheat Flour, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed todopherols), Squid Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Calcium Propionate (preservative), Rice Bran, Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Garlic, Brine Shrimp, Canthaxanthin, Red Algae, Spirulina, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin A Acetate, CHoline Chloride, A-Tocopherol Acetate (Source of Vitamin E), Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, THiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, D-Activated Animal Sterol (Source of Vitamin D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Inositol, Cacium Iodate, Calcium Biphosphate, Cupric Sulfate Pentahydrate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate.

Before that, I fed him
Atlantis Betta Food with Natural Color Enhancers

Ingredients:
Fish Meal, Shrimp Meal, Soybean Meal, Wheat Flour, Fish Oil, Squid Meal, Dried Yeast, Red Algae, Spirulina Powder, Astaxanthin, Calcium Propionate, Rice Bran, Proteinase Enzyme, Garlic, Brine Shrimp, L-ascorbyl-2polyphosphate (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Acetate, Choline Chloride, Thiamine, Biotin, Pyridoxine HCl, Folic Acid, Cholecalciferol (VItamin D2[must be a misprint for D3]), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Inositol, Calcium Iodate, Calcium biphosphate, Cuprum Sulphurium, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate

Hikari Betta Bio-Gold

Ingredients:
Wheat flour, fish meal, soybean meal, gluten meal, krill meal, wheat germ meal, cuttlefish oil, brewers dried yeast, drid A. niger fermentation extract, astaxanthin, garlic, monosodium glutamate, DL-methionine, dried seaweed meal, choline chlirode, vitamin E supplement, L-ascortyl-2-polyphosphate (stabilized vitamin C), inositol, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, vitamin A oil, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, niacin, menadion sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K0, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, ferrous sulfate, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, cobalt sulfate, calcium iodate, disodium phosphate, red 3 (artificial color)

I have not yet fed the Hikari to my fish, nor have I fed another food, from Atison's but different from the Betta Pro mentioned earlier:

Atison's Betta Food

Ingredients:
fish meal, cereal meals, krill meal, minerals, vitamins and preservatives (calcium propionate, ethoxyquin)

I obtained the Hikari and Top Fin foods at PetSmart/PetCo, the Atlantis food at BigLots, and I ordered the Atison's over the Internet; IBC carries both it and the Atison's Betta Pro in small and larger containers. Some time ago, I also obtained some Aqueon Betta Pellets from PetSmart. I don't have the container anymore, to list ingredients, but my fish loved them.
 
#8 ·
Wow, Atison's always had such a good rep but it seems pretty low quality from what I'm reading. O___O
Anything that's like "fish/shrimp/whatever meal" isn't the best thing, because this could just contain scraps.. Generally if it has the word "whole" (or I guess pure) then it's much better..
You shouldn't want any sort of wheat in the first two ingredients, these should be a nice protein..

Of course that's if you want the best, which does get expensive. >__>
 
#9 · (Edited)
My poor eyes, this tiny writing..

HBH Betta Bites


Fish meal, shrimp meal, soybean meal, wheat flour, corn gluten meal, fish oil, squid meal, brewer's dried yeast, calcium propionate, aspergillus niger fermentation product, garlic, brine shrimp, canthaxanthin, vitamin C, vitamin A acetate, choline chloride, vitamin e, niacin, D-calcium, pantothenate, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, pyridoxine HCL, folic acid, vitamin D-3, B-12 supplement, Menadione bisodium sulfate complex, inositol, calcium iodate, calcium biphosphate, cuprum sulphuricum, sodium selenite, cobalt chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrus sulfate, magnesium sulfate, manganese sulfate.

crude protein - 42%
crude fat - 6%
crude fiber - 2%
moisture - 10%

Pretty good protein content, but I don't like the corn gluten meal and the ash content is quite high (12%) -- which may be why they don't list it (another thing I don't like, it seems dishonest).

I'm considering a change to New Life Spectrum with the whole fish.

phew..
 
#10 ·
Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets
Ingredients:
Whole Salmon, Halibut, Shrimp, Wheat Flour, Wheat Gluten, Fresh Kelp, Astaxanthin, Lecithin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Phosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Natural and Artificial Colors, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Folic Acid, Biotin, Inositol, Tocopherol (Preservative), Ethoxyquin (Preservative)

Guaranteed Analysis:
Min Crude Protein - 42%; Min Crude Fat - 5%; Min Crude Fiber - 2%
Max Moisture - 8.5%; Max. Ash - 8%; Min. Phosphorus - .5%
----------------------
I don't feed this, but I have it laying around, so:

Aqueon Betta Food
Ingredients:
Whole Fish Meal (Salmon, herring, & other mixed fishes), Whole Wheat Flour, Soybean Meal, Shrimp Meal, Whole Dried Krill, Wheat Germ, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Oil, Squid Meal, Garlic, Natural Astaxanthin, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), L-Ascocorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vit. C), Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (Source of Vit. D3), Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulphite Complex (Source of Vit. K), Folic acide, Thiamine, Pyridoxine (B6), Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, DL-Alphatocopherol (E), Manganese Sulfate, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate

Guaranteed Analysis:
Min Crude Protein - 38%; Min Crude Fat - 7%; Max Crude Fiber - 7%
Max Moisture - 8%; Min. Phosphorus - 1%
----------------------
Actually, Omega One is lookin' pretty GOOD. This is nice, though, because I'm gonna pick up another type of food next time I go, and it's cool to see the ingredients.
 
#12 ·
i love New Life Spectrum Grow pellets...
Ingredients:
Herring, Krill, Wheat Flour, Algae Meal, Soybean Isolate, Fish Oil, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Garlic, Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Biotin, DL Alphatocopherol (E), L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C), Choline Chloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide and Ethoxyquin (Preservative).
 
#14 ·
This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with my pet food provider, where unfortunately they don't sell betta food, concerning cat and dog food and what ingredients to avoid:

We stopped in at [Local Feed Store] today, to buy canned dog food, and the proprietors started up a conversation with us regarding what we were feeding our dogs. They asked about the dry food we use, a venison and sweet potato one we get at PetSmart, brand name Nutro. It turns out that this brand of dog food is on a list of worst offenders at feeding garbage to our pets. The folks at [LFS] told us what to look for--and avoid--in the ingredient list of pet foods:

Corn-Soy-Wheat
Gluten-Flour
Glycerin
Beet Pulp
By Products
Bone Meal
Menadione
Propylene Glycol
BHA-BHT-Ethoxyquin.

I checked our canned cat food, and most of these are in there; I'm sure the canned dog food we obtain sometimes at Costco will be found to contain these things, as well. The man at [LFS} said that they put glycerin in jerky treats, and in fact there is glycerin in the duck jerky we have been feeding our dogs. He said Beet Pulp is a fiber filler that is a byproduct of the sugar beet industry. It is very cheap to stuff into dog food but is indigestible and overburdens a dog's tiny intestinal tract. Menadione is a synthetic form of Vitamin K that has deleterious effects on the dog, because it is indigestible in its current form. Propylene glycol is related to or is antifreeze, and is used as a preservative. Basically, pet food companies know they can get away with putting all this low-quality stuff in the food, but when dogs and cats are fed more wholesome fare, their coats are shinier, their stool is smaller and less stinky (I kid you not!), and they are generally healthier and exhibit fewer allergies.

You will probably notice the presence of Menadione and Ethoxyquin--and grains--in even some of the better betta foods listed in this thread. I'm not sure what can be done about that or how significant trace amounts of these things are, but what eventuated from my conversation with LF proprietor was a chat with a neighbor who loves animals, including bettas, who said to look at our animals, they are doing fine, not to induce a crisis. Another friend told me I should take my pets' nutrition more seriously than I have. It's hard to know exactly how to proceed, but much of the food we feed our bettas probably really is "good enough," though not as good as "the best."
 
#15 ·
You're so right... Those ingredients aren't good for animals or people, but sadly, outside of live foods, there are no alternatives for fish that I've seen. They all have wheat, at the very least, to hold a pellet together. It seems like Omega One is the most minimal.

Corn, soy, beets, and wheat are all genetically modified unless listed as organic. Gluten causes an immune response and can prevent nutrients from being absorbed in the digestive system (leaky gut syndrome). And, the others are pretty self-explanatory.

Vegetable oils are another major thing that shouldn't be found in any pet food (or, besides olive oil and coconut oil or nut oils, in any people food, either). They are highly refined. Think about how many kernels of corn you'd need to produce a bottle of corn oil and the picture begins to paint itself. On the other hand, when you consume/touch an olive or coconut meat/milk, you can feel the oil.
 
#17 ·
Great to see someone tht knows their stuff!! I wish it were as easy to feed dogs and Cat's high quality foods as it is with fish. My fish's food was on Sale for $6, the good food for my Cat's is $40 for 11 lbs. My parents will NOT pay for that, im 15 & have no job no way can I pay for that. I prefer to feed wet food the moisture content is good for cats. Feeding my dogs good food is out of the question 100% theyre frigging HUGE.
 
#21 ·
WOW! I'm honestly shocked that I got this many replies! =D Thanks you guys SO much for sparing that tedious time & all your eyes' energy on that tiny writing to give me some good answers!
Yeah, when I saw wheat as the 2nd ingredient I thought 'ehh... not the best' so I'm gonna try to find a food that has wheat as at least the 3rd... but there are only like 3 places around here that would sell betta food =\ Walmart (garbage food...) the little reptile store (they only sell the kind that I have - I got it from them) and maybe the mini pet mart in town... idk if mom will take me there or not though 0.o
(As you can tell we live in an area that has lame stores, lol!)

Thanks again everyone for the great info! I do believe in premium nutrition, but I seriously can't afford it for my dogs (going through a 40lb bag every 3-4 weeks with my 3 piggy dogs), so I DEFINITELY will try to afford it for my fish.... Tintin's veeerrryyyyyy far from eating 9C of food a day (*glares at my dog, Otto, after he gobbled up his 9C*)... I don't even think Tin would finish 9C in his lifetime.... haha!
 
#22 ·
LOL yeah. I try to give my Cat's high quality wet food from time to time but for my wallet I must feed the cheap crap most of the time :( that's one thing I look forward to with adulthood- I can feed my pets well. :) I'm not having kids anyways LOL.
 
#23 ·
I give my cat raw chicken scraps that I'd otherwise throw away (the fatty pieces), but yeah... that's about it. Can't afford the expensive stuff. :( I can't wait until I'm graduated (one more semester!) and have my career so I can feed him well.
 
#26 ·
Ohhh yes, our cat, Millie, is the oddest cat ever - she WILL NOT eat ANY cat food! We've tried countless brands, canned, all-natural, we even tried a sample of Cat Lovers' Gold [some of the best food available]... and then we tried to offer her nothing but the catfood for almost a week, she would have died before she ate it I swear!
So what DOES she eat? She gets one raw chicken leg a day & loves it. She also gets peanut butter as a treat. Spoiled kitty....

She's also like about the weirdest-colored cat you'll lay eyes on..... I'll get a pic up sometime of her (all my pics are on my old PC, which it doesn't work anymore... =\)
 
#27 ·
Lol!!! You know, now that I think about it, I probably COULD afford to buy a cheap package of legs/thighs as cat food. :p I would never eat them (I hate chicken thighs!!!) but my cat most DEFINITELY would, haha.
 
#28 ·
My boxer gags when she tastes blood. Spits out anything raw. We undercooked meat once, she spit it out. It was like, half cooked, NOT good enough. She licked her cut she got once but acted like she was gonna throw up so stopped.
 
#30 ·
Aww. At least you know shes not a vampire! xD (that was a rly lame joke but that's what I though when I read that xD)
 
#29 ·
Wow! That's so weird your boxer hates blood, Olympia! Maybe she's making a vegetarian statement or something! Haha ;) Otto eats anything, so he doesn't really care... Shasta's weird though, he either goes savage over raw meat & gobbles it up, or he's really picky & spits it back out [so far raw chicken takes him the longest to eat...] Cassy will eat it, if there's nothing better to go for...
 
#32 ·
Thanks for the funny posts, everyone! I've had a really bad day, so it was nice getting a good laugh out of this thread!
 
#38 ·
Haha, glad you got a laugh. At least this thread's useful for something ;p ;-)
 
#33 ·
Honestly, if you are looking for the betta food with the best quality healthy ingredients, go with new life spectrum betta formula. I just spent over 3 days straight researching different betta foods and what is good in dry pet foods and what isn't and New life spectrum betta formula came out on top.
 
#37 ·
Okay, thank-you so much! I won't be looking for new food for Tintin for a very long time, because I obviously have to finish this bottle (It's gonna take a loooooong time, I've had him about 3 weeks, and his food is maaayyyybe 1/16 gone)

Any idea on places to get it? I probably won't be able to find it.... REALLY crummy stores around where I live... =\
 
#36 ·
Ohhh man that stinks... my pooch, Otto, is the same way. He ate a gum wrapper yesterday, and then there was some sawdust on the ground... he must have thought it was powdered heaven or something! Gosh was he chuggin' it down!! [till of course I told him to leave it, lol!]
poor baby was even trying to eat a piece of wood with nails sticking out.... (Thankfully I told him to spit it out before any harm was done)
 
#35 ·
I feed my lil fella Aqeon betta food pellets *ingredents have already been posted* and he loves them. he's still a baby (i'm thinking about 8-9 weeks) but he can eat them whole, tho I try to pinch them to crush them a bit, every so often one slips out. When this jar runs out, I'm going to buy a better pellet

I also feed him every 2 days Tetra bettaMin tropical medley flakes I grabbed at walmart. I give him a flake or 2, just to switch it up a bit. these ingredents are:
fish meal, dried yeast, ground brown rice, shrimp meal, wheat gluten, feeding oat meal, fish oil, brine shirmps (fd), krill (fd), potato protein, dehulled soybean meal, soybean oil, sortbitol. aglae meal, lechithin, monobasic calcium phosphate, yeast extract, l-ascrobyl -2-polyphosphates (stabilized vit. c), biotin, manganese sulfate monohydrate, zinc sulfate monohydrate, ferrous sulfate monohydrate, cobalt acetate, color includes: red no.3 dye, ethoxyquin as a preservative.

Guaranteed analysis:
min. crude protein 48%
min, crude fat 10.0%
max crude fiber 1.5%
max moisture 7.0%
min phoshorus 1.1%
min ascorbic acid (vit c) 90mg/kg
min omega 3 fatty acids 6,000 mg/kg

The flakes have 10% more protein than the pellets, which is a reason I give him some.

I also just bought live brine shirmp today for $1.25.
 
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